Pneumatic sheet separating and delivery means



PNEUMATIC SHEET SEPARATING AND DELIVERY MEANS Original Filed 0C1.- 30, 1962 Nov. 22, 1966 G. c. cuRRxE, JR

3 Sheets-S'net l INVENTOR. GROVE)? Ci CUfifi/EJA? gzzbz Nov. 22, 1966 e. c. CURRiE, JR 3,287,011

PNEUMATIC SHEET SBPARATING AND DELIVERY MEANS Original Filed 001.. 30, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z INVENTOR,

GFOVE I? C. CUFF/E J5 lf; 141. A;

ATTORNEYS Nov. 22, W66 G. c. CURRIE, JR

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Oct. 30, 1962 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,287,011 PNEUMATIC SHEET SEPARATING AND DELIVERY MEANS Grover C. Currie, Jr., Charlotte, N.C., assignor to Weyerhaeuser Company, Tacoma, Wash, a corporation of Washington Original application Oct. 30, 1962, Ser. No. 234,155, now Patent No. 3,254,470. Divided and this application Feb. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 529,520

4 Claims. (Cl. 271-12) This is a division of my copending application Serial No. 234,155 filed October 30, 1962, now US. Patent No. 3,254,470.

This invention relates to an apparatus for transferring carton blanks from an overhead supply station to a lower surface such as a conveyor.

It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus of simple construction which easily transfers blanks from an overhead storage to a lower working surface.

Other objects will become readily apparent upon a reading of the following specification in conjunction with the attached drawings.

FIGURE l is an isometric view of the apparatus with portions cut away to show details of construction.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the packaging apparatus with portions out way to show details of construction.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus taken along line 55 of FIGURE 2. Portions are cut away to show details of the drive mechanism.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of one form of valve used on the infeed vacuum system.

FIGURE 7 is an isometric view of the valve shown in FIGURE 6.

In the present apparatus the transfer mechanism and the related equipment such as the storage magazines 223 and the conveyor 122 are shown in conjunction with a packaging machine having other elements not directly related to the present invention.

Both the carton blank transfer assembly 214 and the auxiliary conveyor 215 are driven by the sprocket shaft 204. The shaft 294 is rotatably journaled in the frame and extends outwardly of the main frame. This outwardly extending section of the shaft 204 has both a cam 220 and a sprocket 222 fixedly mounted on it.

The cam 220 operates the carton blank transfer assembly 214 which transfers the carton blanks from the carton blank magazine 223 to the main conveyor 122 and auxiliary conveyer 215. The cam 220 moves a cam follower 224 mounted on a rocker arm 225 forwardly and backwardly, pivoting a lower pivot shaft 226, to which the rocker arm 225 is fixedly mounted, forwardly and backwardly. The pivot shaft 226 is pivotally mounted in bearing assemblies 229.

An upper rocker arm 254 is pivotally mounted above the shaft .226 on both the operating side and drive side inifeed outer frame assemblies 233 and 235. The upper rocker arm 254 is pivoted backwardly and forwardly by a lower rocker arm 255 which is mounted on the lower pivot shaft 226, and is connected to the arm 254 by a turnbuckle 257 that is pivotally mounted to the arms 254 and 255. The turnbuckle 257 is adjustable, allowing the length of the are through which the outer end 260 of the rocker arm 254 will travel to be adjusted. A shaft 262 is pivotally mounted in and extends between the rocker arms 254 and supports the vacuum transfer apparatus which carries the blanks 40 from the carton blank magazine 223 to the conveyors.

ice

In the carton blank magazine 223 the blanks 40 are supported by a number of forwardly tilted longitudinal bars 265. Each of the bars 265 has an upwardly extending detent 266 on its forward end which engages the lower front face of the front blank 40 and holds the stack of blanks within the magazine 223. The blanks 40 may be held against the detent 266 by a forwardly moving weight or by any other suitable means. The upper front face of the front blank 40 is held within the magazine 223 by an adjustably mounted transverse bar 267. This adjustability allows the bar 267 to be raised or lowered to accommodate various sized cartonblanks. The stack of blanks in the magazine 223 is aligned with the conveying and forming elements of the machine by adjustable side alignment plates 269.

The carton blanks 40 in the magazine 223 are removed individually from the magazine and carried upwardly and outwardly by the vacuum units 280 which are rigidly mounted to the shaft 262. Each of the vacuum units 280 has a sleeve 281 which fastens the unit to the shaft 262, a rigid housing 282 attached to the sleeve 281 and a resilient head 283 mounted on the outer end of the housing 282, and is connected to a source of vacuum by a flexible hose 284 which extends between and is connected to the rigid housing 282 and to the valve chamber .285 of a valve unit 286.

The body 287 of the valve unit 286 is rigidly mounted at 288 to the shaft 262, and is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) by a flexible hose 289 which extends between and is connected to the valve chamber 285 and the vacuum source. The valve units 286 are located between the vacuum unit 280 and the vacuum source, and

disconnect the vacuum units 280 from the vacuum source by opening the valve chamber 285 to the outside atmosphere, drawing air into the vacuum source through the chamber 285 instead of the units 280; and connect the vacuum units 280 to the vacuum source by closing the valve chamber 285 to the outside atmosphere, drawing air into the vacuum source through the vacuum units 280. The opening and closing of the vacuum chamber 285 to the outside atmosphere is done by a cap 290 which closes the open top of the chamber and which may be raised, opening the chamber to the outside atmosphere.

The cap 290 is moved between the open and closed positions by a pivoted arm 291, connected to the cap 290 by a shaft 292 that extends upwardly from the cap and is fixed to the arm 291. The arm 291 and the attached cap 290 are biased into the closed position against the open top of the valve chamber by a tension spring 293, extending between the arm 291 and an extension 294 on the valve body 287. It is also possible to use a compression spring between the arm 291 and the valve body 287 on the opposite side of the pivot 295 of the arm 291,

The cap 296 is moved upwardly out of contact with the chamber 285 by pivoting the arm upwardly. The arm is pivoted by the rotatable cam follower 296, on the end of the arm 291, which contacts an abutment 297 during the portion of the travel of the transfer assembly 214 in which the blanks 40 are held in position over the conveyers. The contact between the cam follower 296 and the abutment 297 depresses the cam follower 296 and pivots the arm 291 and cap 290 out of contact with the open end of the valve chamber 285. Air is drawn in through the chamber 285 instead of through the vacuum units 280, releasing the blank 40 from the vacuum units and causing it to drop onto the conveyors. The cam follower 296 moves out of contact with the abutment 297 as the transfer assembly 214 moves toward the magazine 223, allowing the tension spring 293 to pivot the arm 291 and the cap 290 into contact with the upper end of the valve chamber 285. Air is drawn in through the vacuum units 280, allowing the vacuum units to withdraw another blank 40 from the magazine 223.

The vacuum units 280 must be in a horizontal position during the pick-up and removal of the blanks 40 from the magazine 223, and must be in a vertical position during the deposition of the blanks 40 onto the conveyers 122 and 215. The vacuum units 280, and the shaft 262 to which they are attached, are pivoted between these positions by a cam follower 298 that is fixedly mounted to the shaft262 by an arm 299. The cam follower 298 is biased into contact with an abutment 301, and is positioned during the transfer cycle by the abutment 301.

The cam follower 298 is in contact with the lower edge of the abutment 301 during the portion of the cycle in which the transfer assembly 214 approaches and withdraws from the magazine 223, and maintains the vacuum units 280 in a horizontal position during this approach and withdrawal. This positioning causes the heads 283 of the vacuum units 280 to traverse an arc, allowing the heads 283 to carry the blanks 40 upwardly over the detents 266 of the magazine 223 during the withdrawal of the blank from the magazine.

The further travel of the transfer assembly 214 causes the cam follower 298 to contact the rear vertical edge of the abutment 301, pivoting the shaft 262 and the vacuum units 280 into the vertical position. This action positions the blank 40 horizontally over the conveyers 122 and 215, and the bed of the machine.

As the transfer assembly 214 moves the blank 40 into position over the conveyers 122 and 215, the valve unit cam follower 296 contacts the abutment 297, disconnecting the vacuum unit 280 from the vacuum source and dropping the blank 40 onto the conveyers. The transfer assembly 214 is then pulled toward the magazine 223 by tension springs 308 extending between the upper rocker arm 254 and a post 309 on the outer side wall 263 of thetmagazine 223, beginning another transfer cycle.

What is claimed is:

1. A blank storage and transfer apparatus comprising a surface,

a magazine for supporting a stack of blanks in an uprig-ht position, and having a supporting surface above the plane of said first surface,

means pivotally mounted on said rocker arm for hold- 1 ing said blanks during the transfer from said magazine to said first surface, a stationary cam adjacent said rocker arm,

a cam follower mounted on said holding means and biased against said stationary cam,

said cam having a surf-ace which causes said holding means to be normal to the magazin when adjacent the magazine and to be normal the first surface when a rocker arm is in the position removed from said magazine, and which allows said holding means to travel in an upward are when leaving said magazine whereby said blank is carried over said detent means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said holding means comprises vacuum heads.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said surface is a conveyer, and

said supporting means is a carton blank magazine having a supporting surface above the plane of the conveyer. 4. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said holding means further comprises means for releasing the vacuum when said heads are moved over said surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,530,209 3/1925 Scheuner 271-43 2,119,585 6/1938 Knowlton. 2,524,417 10/1950 Bamber 27120 2,995,360 8/ 1961 Simpson 271-27 3,005,744 10/1961 McFarlane 27l-27 X 3,111,065 11/1963 Jones et 2.1.

M. HENSON WOOD, 1a., Primary Examiner. ALLEN N. KNOWLES, Examiner. 

1. A BLANK STORAGE AND TRANSFER APPARATUS COMPRISING A SURFACE, A MAGAZINE FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF BLANKS IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION, AND HAVING A SUPPORTING SURFACE ABOVE THE PLANE OF SAID FIRST SURFACE, SAID MAGAZINE HAVING DETENT MEANS FOR ENGAGING THE LOWER FACE OF THE FRONT BLANK IN THE STACK OF BLANKS, AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING ROCKER ARM PIVOTAL BETWEEN A POSITION ADJACENT SAID MAGAZNE AND A POSITION REMOVED FROM SAID MAGAZINE AND OVER SAID FIRST SURFACE, MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID ROCKER ARM FOR HOLDING SAID BLANKS DURING THE TRANSFER FROM SAID MAGAZINE TO SAID FIRST SURFACE, A STATIONARY CAM ADJACENT SAID ROCKER ARM, A CAM FOLLOWER MOUNTED ON SAID HOLDING MEANS AND BIASED AGAINST SAID STATIONARY CAM, 